


Sex Arcade: April O'Neil

by hdctbpal



Category: Mass Effect, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 1987)
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-15 13:30:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3448916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hdctbpal/pseuds/hdctbpal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>April O'Neil is captured for the Sex Arcade. Jane Shepard has the job of helping her settle in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sex Arcade: Commander Shepard](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/100532) by Sabu. 
  * Inspired by [Sex Arcade: April O'Neil](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/100661) by Sabu. 
  * Inspired by [Commander Shepard](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/101501) by 3DXcentric. 
  * Inspired by [April](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/101507) by TMNT 1987 Cartoon Animators. 
  * Inspired by [Femshep Loves April #1](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/131900) by kola411. 
  * Inspired by [Femshep Loves April #2](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/131903) by anotherartistmore. 



> This story is inspired by Sabu's Sex Arcade series, but this is only a fan work and is not canonical. His artworks and stories may be different from this, and any mistakes here are entirely mine.
> 
> And like the Miranda story, this isn't intended to convey disrespect for April (or Shepard). Quite the opposite. I did "research" for this story by watching old TMNT episodes on YouTube and I had forgotten how adorable she is, not to mention smart, fearless, determined, and resourceful.

April O'Neil awoke with a groan. Her head hurt, and her brain felt like it was full of cotton. She sat up and then winced and rubbed her head. Her lush auburn hair was tousled with sleep. She was in bed, but she wasn't sure how she'd gotten there.

She looked down at herself and realized she was nude. She never slept that way - her breasts were large enough to make her uncomfortable unless they were supported. Then she realized there was someone in the room with her. She gasped and tried to pull the sheet up around herself, but there wasn't enough to cover her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and crossed her arms over her breasts.

April didn't know the woman who was watching her. She had white-blond hair that was straight and thick but cut to jaw length, and her eyes were a brown so light as to be amber. She wore a white apron with a number of pockets around the waist. The pockets were filled with tools. April noticed that most of the tools looked metallic and sharp.

"Wha-what...." April had trouble forming words, as if she had forgotten how.

"Please do not be alarmed, Miss O'Neil," the woman said. Her voice was soft and even. She put April in mind of a nurse.

"Uhh. Where am I?" April looked around. The room she was in looked more like a hotel bedroom than a hospital room. Morning sunlight streamed through a large window; glowing dust motes drifted lazily in it. She looked back at the nurse. "How do you know who - "

The nurse held up a hand. "Please, Miss O'Neil, all of your questions will be answered soon. For now, it is time for you to bathe and dress." She sounded as if she were reading from a manual.

April hugged her knees. Her hair felt matted, her body greasy with sweat. A shower would be nice, but - "Could I...have some privacy?"

"Very well," the nurse said. "You have fifteen minutes. Please be prompt." She turned and walked over to a nearby door and stood with her back to it. April realized it was to make sure she didn't leave on her own. The nurse could still see April from where she stood, but she made a show of turning her head to one side and looking at a wall. 

This place was starting to make April uneasy. She still didn't remember how she had gotten here. She kept one eye on the nurse as she put her feet on the floor and got out on the far side of the bed. Covering her breasts with one hand and the joining of her thighs with the other, she walked toward the bathroom as quickly as dignity allowed.

April had never been one to linger in the shower. Ten minutes later she was toweling herself dry and brushing out her hair. There was makeup on the counter, but she didn't feel like bothering with it at the moment. Anyway, she hardly needed any, as Irma had once told her, in a jealous tone that was only half joking.

Outside the bathroom was a walk-in closet. She hadn't noticed what it contained before. Hanging from the bar was a row of baggy yellow jumpsuits. She counted an even dozen. There were no other outfits.

On the floor were a half dozen pairs of white boots. She picked one up. It was made of white doeskin, which she hoped was imitation, and looked as if it had never been worn. It had a familiar thick cushioned sole. She found the label. It was the brand she wore.

"Creepy," she said.

The nurse must have overheard her. "Please hurry," her voice came from the other room, making April jump. "There are only two minutes left."

April shook her head, her irritation displacing her unease. Why was this schedule so darned important?

There was a dresser in the closet. The top drawer contained bras and panties, all made of matching while silk. They were nicer than she was used to, but thankfully without lace or ruffles. At this point she was just glad not to find the contents of her own underwear drawer in there. Then she realized the underwear was all in her size - 36E for the bras, 28" waist and 38" hips for the panties. She reluctantly took one of each, slid the panties up over her hips, and fastened the bra behind her back.

The lower drawer was full of fluffy white cotton socks. She took a pair and slipped them over her feet. She chose one of the jumpsuits at random. She had just finished zipping it up when the nurse stepped into the room.

"We must go," the nurse said. "Please follow me."

She turned and walked out of the suite, leaving April to pull on one of the pairs of boots and hurry after her. Outside the suite was a bare metal corridor, like a passageway on a naval ship. It hardly fit with the comfortable suite. Harsh light came from recesses in the overhead. But this can't be a ship, April thought, because we aren't rocking. And my room had a window, not a porthole.

"Where are we going?" April asked as she caught up to the nurse.

"The masters are experimenting with a new approach to integration," the nurse said. She did not look at April or even turn her head, but her voice was more natural now, as though she were no longer reading from a manual. She stumbled over a couple of words, as if she hadn't spoken words of her own choosing in a long time. "One of your fellow, ah, guests will conduct your integration, rather than our psychiatric staff."

"What? I don't need a psychiatrist," April said.

The nurse smiled. Again, it almost looked as though she had to think about how to do it first. "And we hope you will not need one for some time, Miss O'Neil. Not if this more, ah, gradual approach to integration is successful."

"Integration?" April said. There was nothing noticeably different in the nurse's voice when she said that word, but somehow it carried a chill.

"Think of it," the nurse said, "as your orientation. To your new, ah, role in our facility."

That left April feeling as confused and uneasy as ever. But before she could ask another question, the nurse stopped at a door. The door, and the wall around it, were not metal, but a transparent material, like lucite, that reached from floor to ceiling. Behind the wall was what looked like a small office. There were a simple desk and a couple of chairs, apparently made from the same material as the wall. Sitting on the desk was a woman.

April's first glimpse of the woman remained bright and sharp in her memory for a long time afterward, as if time had slowed down and stopped at this instant and then started up again. Maybe it was the shock and horror of what came later.

The first thing April saw was the woman's hair; it was fiery red, more red than April's, thick and wavy and just long enough to brush her shoulders. Her face was more than pretty, but in a hard way rather than soft; it was the face of someone very determined, whose beauty was an afterthought. But more than that, there was something weary about it, as if the woman was fighting a long, hard battle, and losing. Her eyes were wide and green, with long lashes; her mouth was a bit thin, but it suited her. Her neck was long and slim. April guessed her age was around thirty, a little more than April's own.

She was wearing a black cocktail dress, as if she were on her way to a night on the town, which looked rather out of place in the spartan and glassy office. Her skin was fair; her exposed arms and legs were lithe but thickened by muscle. April thought she looked like an athlete, a long-distance runner, maybe, dressed up in a way that didn't suit her. Even more incongruous were her shoes - black sandals, each with only a couple of thin straps to keep it on its slender foot, and a long, thick heel. April had heard these referred to as "hooker heels". She won't be doing any running in those, April thought.

The woman seemed oblivious to April's scrutiny. April waved at her; the woman's eyes didn't so much as flicker. April realized the woman couldn't see her.

The nurse opened the door. April could see the heavy steel locking mechanism; it looked as if it were suspended in the air. "In here, please," the nurse said.

The quiet worried voice in April's mind was getting louder. But her eyes fell on the sharp metal instruments jutting from the pouches in the nurse's apron, and something inside her body seemed to tighten. She found herself unwillingly walking through the open door. Anyway, the woman inside the room seemed less strange and threatening than the nurse. Maybe, April told herself, she can give me some answers.

The door closed behind her with a loud click. April looked over her shoulder and saw only a faint reflection of herself in an opaque black wall. The lucite was only transparent in one direction, she realized. The worried voice in her mind got a little louder still when she realized the door didn't open from the inside, either. There wasn't even a keyhole where she could insert a lockpick.

April turned back to the woman, who hadn't moved from the desk. "Hi," she said, hearing how nervous she sounded. "I'm April." Somehow, it didn't seem like the time to introduce herself as April O'Neil of Channel 6 News.

The woman took a deep breath. "Hi, April," she said. "I'm Jane." To April's surprise, Jane sounded nervous too. Her voice was much like her face; strong and attractive, but carrying some secret burden. She looked at April and slowly nodded. "So you're the one," she said. She seemed to be talking to herself.

"I don't understand," April said.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Jane said. "If I talk a lot, it's just that I'm...trying to process this."

"Jane." April said. "What is this place? Why am I here?"

"Do you remember how you got here?"

April shook her head.

"What's the last thing you do remember?" Jane seemed to be impatient, but trying to hide it. Why, April wondered, was everyone in such a hurry here?

April looked at the floor as she tried to think. "I...took a shower...and went to bed - I remember that because - " Because she woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee, but she wasn't going to say that. "Wait," she said, as something came back to her. "I had a dream. I was in the hospital...and I had to have a shot...." Her face clouded. "I was afraid. I don't like needles."

Jane was nodding. "They must have come into your house - "

"Apartment."

" - and given you something to keep you asleep."

April approached the desk and took one of the chairs and sat down. "You mean I've been kidnapped?"

"I'm afraid so, April."

April shrugged, and noticed Jane was surprised by her reaction. "It's happened before," she said. "I'm a reporter. I have to take risks." Her mouth twisted. "More so because I'm a woman. You know how it is. Anyway, sometimes it gets me in - " Her eyes widened. "Wait. Did they - "

"Yeah," Jane said. "They grabbed me too."

"How?"

"A big ambush and a lot of firepower," Jane said.

April took in the woman's strong arms and legs again. "You're a soldier."

"Yeah."

April forced herself to sound cheerful. "Then the rest of your unit will be looking for you. They'll find you. Or my friends will come and find me. They always have." Even in Dimension X, she thought.

Jane started to say something, but then she seemed to change her mind about it. "Yes. I know they will, April."

But, for an instant, April saw the weariness on Jane's face again, and that was when she understood. Jane had been here for a long time. And what had happened to her...April found her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself a little.

Jane saw that April understood. "Yeah," she said. "We need to talk." Her voice was that of a doctor giving a diagnosis of cancer.

April felt as if a giant fist were slowly squeezing her heart and lungs. She swallowed and nodded for Jane to go on.

Jane leaned forward and held out her hands. "Here," she said.

April reached out and took Jane's hands in hers. They were cool and smooth, which surprised April, who expected them to be rough and calloused. April knew her own hands were clammy and sweaty, but Jane didn't seem to mind.

"I don't know how to say this," Jane said. "This place is like a prison, but worse. These people are all...." She looked down and mumbled something.

"What?"

"Rapists," Jane said, looking back up at April.

April just stared at her.

"Yeah."

"Rapists?" April's voice was faint.

Jane nodded.

"You mean - you - they - " April didn't know how to say it.

Jane squeezed her hands. "Yeah." Her voice was almost inaudible.

"Oh my God," April said. Tears welled up in her brown eyes. "I'm so sorry..."

Jane squeezed her hands again, harder, and took a deep breath. "I'm...well, I'm not okay, but I'm hanging on."

April didn't want to ask, but the words forced themselves out of her. "Are they...will they..." Her eyes pleaded with Jane to say no.

Jane kept her eyes on April's. "I don't know...but yes, I think so." It clearly hurt her to say it, even more than admitting it had happened to her.

"Oh God!" Involuntarily, April's thighs pressed together, hard, as if to prevent it.

"I'm sorry, April," Jane said. "You're going to have to be very strong."

"No...." April shook her head wildly, disheveling her thick auburn hair. She was sure she was having another nightmare, that she hadn't woken up after all, but she would, any time now, she would be safe in her own bed, and she would shudder with relief that it was only a dream....

"I know," Jane said. Her grip on April's hands was almost painful now. "I'm here, April, I'm right here."

April sniffled. A tear spilled from her right eye and trickled down her face. For an absurd moment she was glad she hadn't put on any makeup. She looked up at Jane's face and tried to focus through the blur of her tears. "Jane...why?"

"I don't know. Not all of it, I mean," Jane said. "There are other women here. A lot of them. The people in charge of this place, the attendants, they...sell us."

"Sell?" April sounded as if she had never heard the word before.

"Yeah. To clients. Men, mostly, a few women. They pay to, to...use us."

April's face twisted. "Like comfort women?" For a moment, her disgust overcame her horror.

"Yeah."

April swallowed. "If...if there are other women here, can't you rush the guards? Escape?"

"Believe me, I've tried. Repeatedly. The attendants have guns with tranquilizer darts. And they keep us chained up almost all the time, especially if they think we're dangerous." Jane rubbed her wrists, then her neck. "This is the first time I haven't had to wear any since...." She shook her head. "And they keep us apart, so we can't make plans together. And some of the women are plants. They get better treatment for informing on us. So it's hard to know who to trust."

"Who would do such a thing? Inform, I mean. Don't they want to get out of here?" April said.

"Some of them..." Jane shook her head. "They're been broken. Psychologically, I mean. They don't remember what freedom is, or they don't want it any more. At least you can usually spot them. They have that thousand-yard stare, like the attendants."

"That woman who brought me here, that nurse...she wasn't a nurse," April said.

"No. She was one of them," Jane said.

"But she's a woman too. Why would she help do this to us?" April said.

Shepard was darting uneasy glances at the blank wall to her right. "I don't know. Brainwashing of some kind, maybe. Or maybe she used to be one of us."

April tried to imagine the torture that could reduce her to a mindless robot like that attendant. Her mouth thinned. She would rather rush the attendants, even if she had to do it alone, and either escape or die. Then she remembered what Jane had said. She would be met not with bullets, but tranquilizer darts. And when she woke up...she shivered.

Jane seemed to know what April was thinking. "April...we have to help each other."

April looked up at her. She was beginning to see Jane as some kind of lifeline, to be clung to in the midst of a dark and endless ocean. "How?"

Jane let go of April's left hand. Slowly, her hand shaking, she reached to April's face and brushed a stray lock of auburn hair away from her brown eyes. Her touch was hesitant and felt almost feathery on April's skin.

April just watched. She didn't understand. Then she did. Her mouth dropped open slightly. She recoiled.

Jane didn't seem offended, just a little sad. "I'm sorry, April. I don't even know how to - "

"You - you're not serious. I - you - we have to - "

Jane swallowed hard. "Yeah. That's what they - "

"No!" April jumped out of her chair, knocking it over. Somehow this was even worse than what Jane had told her already. Maybe she just hadn't let herself believe any of it until now. She backed up against the wall.

Jane stayed where she was, but she leaned forward. Her voice was low and urgent. "April, listen to me."

"Stay away from me!"

Jane put her hands flat on the desk. "I'll stay here, I promise. Just listen. Please."

April shook her head, but she didn't say anything more, so Jane went on. "I don't have any choice. If I - we - don't do this, they'll take me back...out there." She glanced to her right again, and now April saw the fear in her face.

"And - " April had trouble getting the words out. "And me too?"

Jane nodded miserably.

"God." April found she was no longer pressing herself back against the wall. Then another realization struck her. "And - they can see us?" She darted away from the wall, looking over her shoulder as if she could see the leering spectators on the other side.

"It's okay," Jane said quickly. It wasn't, but her voice was soothing. "It's just that one attendant. It - this part isn't open to the public. This is just to - to lessen the shock, I guess."

April remembered now what the attendant said when she brought April here. Orientation. Integration. No wonder those words had sounded so ominous.

Then she remembered something else the attendant said. She looked at Jane. "Wait. They didn't...tell you? Like you're telling me?"

Jane's smile was gentle and sad. "No. They just went right to it. Not that it took me very long to figure it out."

"God," April said. "I'm - " She wanted to say she was sorry, but it hardly seemed adequate.

"I know," Jane said. "If it makes you feel any better, I - " She took a breath. "I'm not attracted to women either. But at the moment I don't ever want to see another cock again. Let alone taste it or feel it in me." She shuddered.

April had to try to make it easier for her. "So you're, uh, supposed to, um, seduce me," she said. "For whatever reason, that's what these sickos want."

"Yeah."

"And if you don't, they come in here and get us." April's hands were clasped together, her long slim fingers rubbing each other furiously.

"Yeah." Jane's hands were gripping the edge of the desk under her. Her knuckles were white.

"And I suppose they're getting impatient," April's voice was unsteady now. "And maybe, if we're really convincing, they won't - "

Jane's hands came up off the desk and she held them out. April took two unsteady steps into her embrace.


	2. Chapter 2

Jane held April close. April reminded herself that this woman had been through a hellish ordeal. Who knew how long it had been since she last felt an affectionate touch? April slipped her arms around her. She had thought the black dress must be made of silk, but instead it felt like knitted cotton. It was soft and warm under April's hands. April rested her chin on Jane's shoulder and her face was half covered by Jane's lush red hair. It had the faintest scent of something spicy and sweet, but April couldn't tell what. April could feel Jane's breath ruffling her own hair and tickling the side of her neck.

Jane was running her fingernails up and down April's back. It felt...good, even though April wasn't at all sure she wanted it to feel good. She did the same for Jane, and felt Jane's back arch a little.

"You like that?" April felt silly saying it, but she knew her voice was one of her best features, and she wanted to help.

"Yes." Jane's voice was a sigh. Come to think of it, April admitted, she had a nice voice too. It was deeper than hers, and just a little smoky.

They let go of each other and April took a half step back, but her hands caught Jane's elbows. She traced the tips of her fingers along Jane's bare forearms, raising goosebumps, until her hands found Jane's and their fingers interlaced. April was trying to pretend Jane wasn't a woman, trying to touch her the way she would touch a man. It did not help that it had been several months since April had done that.

She gently pulled Jane back toward her. This time neither of them turned her face away and they bumped their noses. April giggled, despite herself, and Jane gave a tiny hint of a smile, but a real smile. April let go of Jane's right hand, and put her hand up to Jane's face. It was strange to feel the smooth skin along her jawline - a man's face tended to feel a little like sandpaper even when clean-shaven. But it wasn't unpleasant. Jane's skin put April in mind of the silk she had expected the dress to be made from.

April closed her eyes and took a deep breath and leaned forward until she felt Jane's lips on hers. She had never kissed another woman. To her surprise, it didn't feel any different. Jane's lips were soft and warm and just a little rough. Encouraged, she slipped her hand back into Jane's thick red hair until it was resting on the back of her neck, and stroked her fingernails along Jane's scalp. She felt, rather than heard, Jane drawing in a tiny sharp breath, and just as she realized she had caused it, Jane opened her mouth to April's. Before she could think about it, April did the same thing, tilting her head a little to the right to deepen the kiss.

April felt Jane's hand on the small of her back again, pressing her body into Jane's, and she realized that for a moment she had hoped Jane would do just that. 

To April's relief, the kiss broke without their tongues meeting, though a tiny silvery thread of wetness joined their lower lips briefly before falling across her chin. She realized she was breathing heavily and her heart was beating quickly and, it seemed to her, loudly. She felt a trickle of sweat down her back; her jumpsuit felt much too warm.

Jane's mouth was still open just a little; she was breathing hard as well. "April - " her voice was rough. She tried again. "You...you're a good kisser." She blushed and looked down and said, "Not something I ever thought I'd find myself saying to another woman, but - "

April didn't want to stop to think about that. Her hand came up under Jane's chin and drew Jane's face to hers and she kissed her again, more firmly this time.

Jane shuddered. Their arms were around each other again now. April felt something in Jane's body, something yielding, almost liquid. She recognized it because she had felt it in herself before. She was beginning to feel a bit out of control, and it scared her, but she knew had to keep going. Jane sensed her hesitation, and the kiss broke again, and April found herself looking closely into Jane's green eyes. Jane looked back at her, not blinking, not looking away. April felt an understanding that hadn't been there before. She's kind, April thought to herself, and strong, but gentle. For the first time, she thought: Okay. I can do this.

April let go of Jane's waist and slipped both hands around Jane's neck and gently brought Jane's face to hers again. She realized she didn't have to turn her face upward as she did with a man; she and Jane were about the same height. This time she kissed Jane before closing her eyes. Without thinking about it, she parted her lips before the kiss, and she found Jane had too.

April's hands closed around Jane's long slim neck, ever so slightly. Jane's skin was very warm under her hands, and Jane's red hair was soft as it brushed April's fingers. April braced herself and pressed her tongue into Jane's mouth. Again she felt Jane draw in a sharp breath, and she opened her eyes a little just as Jane did, looking at April with clear surprise. Then Jane closed her eyes again, and April felt her tongue being sucked into Jane's mouth. Jane knew what they had to do, just as April did. April closed her own eyes again and focused on the kiss. Jane's mouth tasted ever so slightly of mint, but mostly April just felt warmth and wetness. I can do this, April thought again, as she felt Jane's tongue sliding over hers.

This time, when the kiss ended, both women gasped a little. Again there was a strand of wetness joining their open mouths, shorter and thicker this time. Then it disappeared as Jane pressed her mouth to April's and this time April felt Jane's tongue slide into her own mouth. A little shiver raced up her back and she gave a tiny moan, the sound trapped inside the kiss. She had managed to shut the world outside the little room from her mind; the opaque walls helped.

April's jumpsuit was far too warm for comfort now. Her hands let go of Jane's hips - she didn't even remember putting them there - and darted to the zipper at her throat. She inclined her neck forward to continue the kiss as she pulled the zipper down to her navel. Her fingers found the buckle of her white belt and unfastened it. She lowered her arms to her sides and the loose top of the outfit slid off her shoulders and bunched at her waist. She started to pull it the rest of the way down, but she found Jane's hands there first. Jane slid the jumpsuit down over April's hips and then it was puddled around her calves.

Jane broke the kiss and took a step back. "Jesus Christ," she said.

April had of course been complimented on her body many times, but now she found herself blushing. Her profession was still dominated by men, and she felt she had to tone down her figure to be taken seriously - hence the baggy jumpsuit that had become her uniform. She crossed her arms over her breasts and tried to deflect her embarrassment. "I thought you were straight." She meant it to be teasing, but it came out sounding like an accusation.

Jane's eyes were on April's breasts. For a moment, she seemed not to have heard April. Then she looked up sharply at April's face. "Um. I can't believe I just did that. Sorry, April. Anyway, I am. Straight, I mean. This is just - envy."

"Oh," April said. She wasn't sure she believed that, but - "Envy I can deal with." She made herself uncross her arms and drop them to her sides. "You can tell me more, if you'd like." Maybe that would help.

"Well - " Jane seemed at a loss for words now. But then she said, "Fine, I admit it. I'd go through the N7 program again to have that rack."

April's mouth dropped open slightly. "I - hm. Haven't heard that one before." Though Jane's gaze made the meaning plain enough. April was half scandalized and half amused.

"And - " Jane's hands sketched an hourglass in the air, with a narrow waist and wide hips.

April found herself giggling. "You don't have to draw me," she said. "I'm right here."

Jane stopped. "Yeah." Her eyes met April's. Her voice was lower now. "April - "

April nodded once.

Jane stepped forward. Her arms went around April and her hands found the clasp of April's bra. April felt the support under her breasts give way slightly as the two halves of the back strap parted and fell free.

April shrugged elaborately, one shoulder and then the other, but the shoulder straps stayed in place. Her shoulders were more square than most women's, maybe because of all the camera equipment she had carried in her career. Some men liked it, but she had always found it to be unfeminine. Jane's hands slid up April's shoulder blades and slid the straps off her shoulders from behind.

Their bodies were pressed together and now the bra remained in place only because it was pinned between them. Jane leaned back a little and the bra fluttered to the ground unnoticed. April winced as her breasts bounced slightly upon being freed. Jane saw that and at once her hands started to come up to them. Then they stopped at April's tummy and Jane looked a silent question at April and April nodded again.

Jane's hands slipped under April's breasts and cradled them - they were more than a handful. "Keep those there," April said. Her voice was noticeably lower now. "I need...." She was going to say she needed support, but suddenly she wasn't sure what she meant.

Jane just nodded. She swallowed. Gently, her long slim fingers began kneading April's breasts. April's lips parted involuntarily and a tiny moan escaped them. Of course her breasts had been touched before - in fact it seemed like the first thing every man wanted to do - and they weren't especially sensitive, but this was different. Jane seemed to know exactly what was too gentle and what was too rough. April supposed that made sense. Unbidden, the thought came to her mind: Will she know just how to touch me...down there, too? The next thought really surprised her: I hope so.

Then Jane brought her face down to April's left nipple and covered it with her lips and sucked it gently into her mouth. "Oh," April said. The word came out on a rush of air. Her nipples became puffy when aroused, rather than hard, and she could feel them swelling now. They also became more sensitive, and she could feel Jane's lips and tongue very distinctly. Her back arched a little and her head tilted back, exposing her long neck, her auburn hair reaching almost to her shoulder blades. Her eyes drifted closed and her breath hissed quietly in and out of her slightly open mouth as Jane sucked.

April found both of her hands on the back of Jane's neck as if to keep her in place. Her fingers began combing through Jane's hair, her fingernails tracing over Jane's scalp and down the back of her neck. Jane moaned at that, and April felt the tiny vibration ripple through her breast. April's breath stopped for an instant and then started again. "Speaking of envy," she said, her hand taking a gentle fistful of Jane's hair, "I wouldn't mind having this shade of red."

Jane released April's nipple for a moment. "There's more," she said. Her eyes flicked downward, as if to leave no doubt about what she meant.

April said, "Oh?" Her voice squeaked upward in the middle of the word as Jane put her mouth over April's right nipple.

"Mm-hmmm."

April's hands reached behind Jane's back and found the zipper and tugged it down. Then they slid down over Jane's waist and hips and thighs and took hold of the hem of her dress. She couldn't help but notice Jane's thighs were as smooth as her face. Her fingers brushed them a little more closely than needed as she lifted the dress. She eased it up over Jane's hips, then her breasts. Jane stepped back and arched her upper body forward, letting April slide the dress over her head and along her arms, while keeping her hands under April's breasts. April smiled as Jane managed to slip her hands out of the dress without letting go. The dress slid to the floor where it joined April's puddled jumpsuit.

Jane lowered her face to April's right breast again but April stopped her. Gently, April's hands pushed Jane back a step. Jane had seen her; now she wanted to see Jane. Jane extended her arms a little to keep her hands under April's breasts. April appreciated her consistency in doing what she was asked. Or maybe, April thought, she just can't keep her hands off them.

April's dark eyes took in Jane's half-naked body. "Speaking of envy," she said again. Her voice was a little stunned. Jane had the nicest body she had ever seen. Well, on a woman.

Okay, April admitted to herself, maybe on anyone.

Her hands reached out and touched Jane's abdominal muscles before she even thought to ask. Jane didn't object, so she let her fingers explore. She had only seen a woman with muscles like this once before, when she covered the Olympics in Los Angeles. They were sharply defined vertically, less so horizontally. April traced a finger from Jane's solar plexus down to her navel, feeling the hard muscle beneath her skin, feeling it flutter ever so slightly under her touch.

"God, you must be strong," April said. Jane's shoulders were more square than April's, but on her they looked good - at the same time making April feel better about her own. If there was a single flaw, April thought, it was that Jane's thighs were a little too thick, but she knew that was muscle too.

Again without thinking to ask, April found her fingers tracing down the front of Jane's pelvis, toward her thighs, wanting to feel. She stopped just above the line of Jane's panties. Her dark eyes looked up into Jane's green ones. Jane didn't say anything, or even nod, but April saw it was all right. April's fingers hooked the waistband of Jane's panties and Jane sighed as they slid down over her hips. April let them fall and Jane lightly kicked them away, followed by her sandals.

Of course, April looked. She was curious. To her surprise, Jane had only a small red triangle of hair, pointing down. It was neatly outlined and closely trimmed. April found it striking and exotic. She had never heard of doing such a thing.

Jane saw April staring, and her left hand let go of April's right breast, carefully and gently, then reached down to take April's right hand and place it flat against her lower pelvis, fingers pointed down. Then Jane's hand went back up to April's breast and began slowly massaging again.

The little triangle of hair tickled the palm of April's hand. It was only slightly coarser than the hair April had combed her fingers through earlier. She pressed the heel of her hand into Jane's pelvis and Jane immediately pressed her pelvis back against April's hand. So she likes that too, April thought with a tiny inner smile. Her fingers spread out, wondering if she would feel any stubble, but Jane's mound and inner thighs were as silky smooth as the rest of her. What April did feel was heat, and dampness.

April's fingers came back together, covering Jane's mound. Then her fingers curled, her index and middle finger tracing the inner edges of the labia majora. April didn't look down; she explored by feel alone. She looked at Jane's face, a few inches from hers. Jane's mouth was open slightly, the lips darker and fuller now. Her green eyes were a little glazed, the pupils dilated. A dark red flush had climbed up her neck and into her face, almost to her cheekbones. Though April had never done this, even she could see Jane was more than ready.

Slowly, April's fingers teased open Jane's outer lips. She rubbed her hand gently up and down over Jane's mound, her middle finger curling inward, feeling the wet pink inner lips, each time probing a little more into the opening beyond them. She could feel Jane's hips moving to the rhythm of her fingers, pressing against her, trying to take more of her in.

At last April's hand paused and her finger pressed inward, into Jane, up to the first joint, then the second. April realized she could no longer feel the tickle of Jane's breath on her face. She pressed her finger inside Jane to the hilt and Jane gasped and began breathing again. April had never done this before - well, except to herself - but she knew Jane could take her index finger too; Jane was small and tight, but very wet, her vagina yielding easily to the motions of April's finger.

Slowly, but inexorably, April's index finger slid in alongside her middle finger, and then both of them were inside Jane to the knuckles.

"Oh," Jane said; her voice was loud and hardly sounded like her own. She was still looking right at April, but she hardly seemed to see her. Her lower lip was trembling; a tiny bubble of saliva clung unnoticed to the corner of her panting mouth. Her hands were clutching April's breasts a little too tightly now, but April hardly noticed.

April began to slide her fingers back out of Jane's vagina, and Jane's hips followed the motion, as if refusing to let go. April felt Jane's vaginal muscles constricting on her; they seemed immensely strong, as strong as the rest of her, far stronger than April's own. She felt a ripple of muscles in her own body - from her tummy down to between her thighs - as if in sympathy. She didn't want to say she was feeling aroused, but...yes. She was feeling aroused.

April managed to extract her fingers as far as their first joints; she saw Jane's mouth form the silent word "no". She looked into Jane's eyes as she pushed her fingers back in, pressing upward on the roof of Jane's vaginal canal as she did so. Jane's eyelids fluttered and a tiny crease appeared between her eyebrows and she said "Ohh," again, more loudly. Jane let go of April's breasts and took hold of her shoulders and their bodies pressed together. Even as April settled into a rhythm, in and out now instead of up and down, she knew it wouldn't be long.

"Ooh God," Jane said. "April - I'm - fuck, April - I'm going to - I'm - ohhhhh - " Jane gave a quiet, shuddering, almost despairing cry as her orgasm shook both herself and April as if she were coming apart. She squeezed April's fingers inside her so hard that April couldn't have moved them if she wanted to.

April watched but she was almost totally focused on the sensations of Jane's body around her fingers. She had never seen another woman orgasm. More to the point, she had never felt another woman orgasm. Not from the inside, not like this. She had never imagined it felt like this. It was one thing to have a man inside her, but she had never imagined what it felt like for him. Now she knew. It must feel a lot like this.

It felt...amazing. April felt light, almost giddy.

Reluctantly, April slipped her fingers out of Jane's wet swollen vagina, feeling a last spasm of protest as she did so, and put her arms around her. Jane held her very tightly. Jane's body was slick with a light sheen of sweat, and April's fingers were coated with the sticky warmth of her fluids.

"God," Jane said, close to April's ear, "I haven't - since - I mean, I've never - "

April squeezed to let Jane know she understood; that Jane had never done this before, but it was the first time she had done it with anyone, willingly, since being brought here.

Jane loosened her hug and leaned back and looked at April's face and said, "Thank you." Her hand reached up and brushed a few strands of April's hair out of her dark eyes again. This time, April smiled and her eyes closed and she inclined her head, just a little, into Jane's touch. "You are beautiful," Jane said. "In case I forgot to tell you."


	3. Chapter 3

"You told me." April gave Jane an amused look. "Something about my 'rack', I believe. Speaking of which - " She crouched and retrieved her bra. Her shoulders and elbows jutted out as she reached behind her back to fasten it. She sighed with relief.

"I'm sorry," Jane said. "I guess I needed some support myself there at the end."

"You can make up for it by showing me yours," April said. She had the feeling she was supposed to say something like that, and besides, fair was fair.

Jane's eyes looked down at April's breasts again. "They're not like yours," she said. She started to cross her arms. Her bra was black, and more functional than decorative.

April leaned forward and caught Jane's arms and stopped her. She slid her hands under Jane's arms, took hold of the bottom of her bra, and lifted. Jane raised her arms and let April pull the bra up over her head.

Jane's breasts were size 32B, April guessed, just enough to make nice handfuls. She had a tiny flat mole at the top of her left one. Her areolae were small and pink, hardly darker than her fair skin. In fact, April thought they were very nice, but she also knew words would not be enough. She cupped Jane's left breast in her hand and leaned forward and kissed the nipple, then sucked it gently into her mouth. She felt, rather than heard, Jane's sharp intake of breath. The nipple had been soft, but it quickly became stiff and hard, almost sharp.

Jane took April's face in her hands and turned it upward to meet hers. April had never even imagined doing what she had just done, but she knew she had done the right thing when she saw the look on Jane's face. It wasn't gratitude, which April didn't want, but validation, which was exactly what April wanted.

Jane bit her lip. "It seems so silly to be insecure about it, but - "

April put a finger over Jane's lips. "It is. Don't be." She put her arms around Jane and drew her into a hug, pressing their breasts together, and she could feel Jane's nipples poking into her own breasts.

"I want to see you, too," Jane whispered in April's ear. April nodded. She could feel the dampness between her thighs; she was aroused enough that she needed release, and she decided she wouldn't mind Jane doing for her what she had just done for Jane.

Though, as it turned out, she got more than that.

April gave a tiny squeal of surprise as Jane tightened her arms around April's waist and picked her up, then turned and sat her on the edge of the desk. Jane knelt and pulled off April's boots, then her socks, then her jumpsuit, which was still bunched around her calves. April looked down and saw something on the back of Jane's left shoulder. It was a tattoo, she realized. To her, that was as unusual as the way Jane was shaved. But, like that arrow of red hair, it was small and tasteful and on Jane it looked good.

Jane leaned forward and gave April a quick kiss on the mouth, then took one of the chairs and sat down, facing her, and leaned forward again. Now her mouth was level with the bottom of April's sternum. Jane kissed her there, then again, a little lower. Then lower.

April's breath caught as she realized what Jane meant to do. "Oh my God," she said.

April thought of herself as worldly - she'd worked as a journalist in both the States and Europe - but she would never claim to be sexually experienced; indeed, she would have been insulted by the idea. She had been born at the dawn of the sexual revolution, and by the time she became aware of it, the beliefs she learned from her parents had long since taken firm root in her.

One of those beliefs was that good girls didn't have sex outside of wedlock. April had, because she lived in the 1980s, after all, not the 1950s. But she had only a few times, and she felt slightly guilty about every one of them. She was a little angry at the unfairness of it, because her career tended to interfere with dating. Some men were intimidated because she was better known than they were. Others seemed more interested in her as April O'Neil of Channel 6 News than as April O'Neil the woman. Still others couldn't accept that she might have to run out to cover a hot story at any hour of the day or night. (Her last sexual tryst had been interrupted by a call on her Turtle-comm, warning her of another extradimensional mutant rampage. She got some terrific footage out of it, and to her relief no one commented on her disheveled appearance, but the relationship went downhill after she flatly refused to turn the comm off the next time.)

The upshot was that April had been pleasured orally only once in her life, and that by a man who wasn't very good at it. She was pretty sure Jane was going to be better at it. From what April had seen so far, Jane was going to be a lot better at it. April was very surprised, a little afraid, and a little excited. Okay, she admitted to herself, maybe more than a little.

April had a flash of guilt about that - if anyone deserved to be the first woman to do this to her, it was Irma. April had never considered anything beyond friendship with her - and she was a very good friend - but April had always suspected Irma of wanting a bit more from her. Irma's loudly professed boy-craziness had always struck April as having a bit of a false note.

Despite her uneasiness, April found her legs parting to give Jane room as her kisses continued down. Jane slipped her arms between April's calves, then outward and under her knees, then up and around and over her thighs. April found her thighs resting on Jane's shoulders, causing her to lean backward. She put her hands flat on the desk behind her to prop herself up. She could feel the strong trapezius muscles of Jane's shoulders under her thighs. She liked that. She felt as if Jane could stand and lift her right off the desk and those shoulders would hold April's weight for as long as she wanted. Easily.

Jane gently pressed her index finger into April's navel, then traced it lightly down her lower belly. Jane's fingernails were cut short, and her touch was just firm enough to dimple April's skin. April sucked in her breath as Jane's finger caught briefly on the waistband of her panties before continuing down. She held that breath as Jane took a tiny detour around her clitoral hood. She exhaled, unevenly, as Jane curved back inward to the center of her slit and then slowly traced it to the bottom. The white silk of April's panties was noticeably darkened, and became more so as Jane gently pressed the fabric inward between April's outer lips, and the tip of Jane's finger glistened with April's arousal.

Jane took her finger away. April's mouth opened, just a little, in an unspoken protest, and her hips pushed forward slightly, as if trying to follow. Jane put her finger to her own lips and then slipped it inside her mouth, letting April see her tongue lick the wetness from her finger. April's dark eyes widened and her mouth opened a little more. If someone went down on her, that was one thing, but April had never imagined anyone simply wanting to...taste her this way. Then she realized Jane had most likely never done that before either. April thought: she did that just to knock my breath out. And she did. April found herself wondering what Jane tasted like.

Jane smiled slightly at April's reaction. She slipped her finger out of her mouth with a tiny "pop" and placed it, very gently, right on April's clit, though it wasn't exposed enough yet to be visible through her panties. April closed her eyes, implicitly trusting Jane to know how sensitive she was, how to touch her. A tiny moan escaped her as Jane began to trace a slow circle around her clit, teasing it out from under its hood. It wasn't long before her clit was making a little hill in the damp fabric that covered it. The teasing stopped for a moment and then she felt Jane's lips kissing her there, gently grinding the fabric of her panties against her clit, and it was if a small electric current had seized her body. Her back arched and she whimpered and her legs opened wider, pushing her pelvis forward to meet Jane's kiss.

April said, "Jane - " Her voice was strained. She hoped Jane would know what she meant, without her having to say more.

Jane did. She didn't even make April close her legs so she could slide the panties off. She put her hands on either side of April's mound with her thumbs pointing down, and tugged the panties to one side with two fingers of her left hand. The rest of her fingers went to work stroking and parting April's outer lips, which were slick with her juices now, to expose her pink inner lips. Jane leaned forward and her nose pressed into April's clit as her tongue came out and licked April's slit from bottom to top, the tip penetrating slightly into her vaginal entrance.

April felt as if every muscle in her body from her navel to her knees moved in response. "Oh God," she whimpered. The man who had gone down on her had been gingerly about it. Jane licked her as if she might devour April with her tongue. Dimly, April felt her thighs rub against Jane's shoulders as her hips moved; she felt her heels dig into Jane's back as her toes curled.

April O'Neil was a very vocal person. Even without the demands of her profession, the need to express herself was an integral part of her. She held strong opinions, which she voiced insistently and defended passionately - in her childhood she had resented nothing more fiercely than being told to be quiet. Her emotions were equally intense, something she half-jokingly ascribed to her Irish heritage.

So she could hardly help but rebel against another of her handed-down beliefs, namely that good girls were quiet during sex. April was not quiet. Not that she was verbal - in fact she seemed to want relief from the need to articulate herself that defined her daily life - but she was not quiet.

One of her relationships ended because her lover found this to be unseemly (in April's opinion, he was just intimidated). It didn't help that, at the time, she lived in apartment building with thin walls, and the next day she found a note of complaint slipped under her door by a neighbor. (April had a rather piercing soprano when she was frightened or excited.) Mortified and angered, she had broken her lease and moved out within the week.

Now, April had closed her mind to the possibility that someone was watching or hearing her. She was not at all quiet as Jane licked and sucked and teased her. Her body glistened with a light sheen of sweat; stray strands of reddish-brown hair clung to her face. Without her realizing it, her hands slid into Jane's hair, her fingers tightening into a painful grip, anything to make sure Jane didn't stop licking her until -

Jane curved her tongue into a U shape around April's clit and squeezed slightly. April let go completely and came with a long and intense cry of pleasure. She came so hard that, afterward, she cried a little; she sobbed twice, and tears welled up in her dark eyes, but didn't spill over. This had never happened to her either, but somehow she knew it was all right. Nothing that felt this way could be wrong.

April found her head resting on Jane's shoulder. "It's okay, April. I've got you." Jane's hand rubbed up and down April's neck and back. "I've got you, little angel." April sniffled, and now a single tear did run over, but she was smiling. Slowly, her trembling stilled and her ragged breathing steadied. She held Jane very tight.

*

"Jane?" They were sitting on the table, just holding each other. Jane had her bra and panties on, but hadn't bothered with her dress. April had put on her jumpsuit, but left it unzipped to her waist. It was very sweaty, but so was she. The attendant hadn't come back for them yet, and right then April would have been content if she never did, as long as Jane was there.

"Mm-hm?"

"What's N7 mean?"

"The tattoo?"

"Yeah." April smiled. "I read it upside down while you were taking my socks off. I didn't see any others. Though I looked carefully." Only then did April realize it might be something their captors had done to Jane.

She was relieved to see Jane smile. "I was a marine."

April found her eyes drawn to Jane's abdominal muscles again. She liked looking at them. "No wonder you're so strong." It also explained Jane's more earthy language, she thought. April had heard plenty of rough words and dirty jokes in the newsroom, but she never joined in - again, she was afraid it would detract from her professionalism, that her colleagues would take her less seriously afterward. But coming from Jane, it sounded...well, sexy.

"I was a lot younger," Jane said. "Training 20 hours a day is a lot easier at 18 than at 32."

"Is N7 a rating of some kind?" April asked. Then she smiled. "Sorry. This isn't an interview."

"I punched a reporter once," Jane said, "but you're much nicer."

"Was the reporter named Vernon?"

"Nope."

"Too bad."

"Why did you become a reporter?" Jane asked.

"I'm curious. I like to find things out. And tell people about them. I knew it was what I wanted to do since I was six. Other kids watched cartoons. I watched the news. Trying to learn how they did their jobs. But I didn't want to sit behind a desk. I want to be where the story is. Which has gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion." April's tone was light, but she was beginning to realize she had never been in trouble quite like this. "Why did you become a marine?"

"At the time, I just wanted to see if I could do it. And I didn't really have anywhere else to go. Eventually I figured out that knowing how to fight meant I could help people. People who couldn't help themselves. And knowing how to lead meant I could help more people. So I became an officer."

"What would you say is the greatest achievement of your career?" April realized her professional instincts were taking over again. That was another thing some men had trouble with: April's constant need to ask questions, even when she wasn't working.

"It's more a bunch of little ones. David Archer. Oriana Lawson. Feron. Chloe Michel. You might not know the names, but you get the idea." Jane looked over at April and her smile got a little wider. "And..."

April had no trouble reading Jane's smile. She gave her a playful shove. "Yeah. I'll be sure to report that one."

Jane took April's face in her hands and brought it to her own. "What do you mean, one?"

April was a little taken aback, and she saw for an instant that Jane had surprised herself a little as well, but before either of them changed her mind, she pressed her lips to Jane's and opened her mouth.


	4. Chapter 4

The door opened to reveal the attendant. April hastily zipped up her jumpsuit.

Jane quickly stood and placed herself between the attendant and April.

"If there's anything human left in you, any of you," Jane said to the attendant, "don't take her to a booth."

To April's astonishment, Jane's voice was shaking. April saw the dart gun holstered at the attendant's waist, and she realized Jane was afraid not for herself but for April. Jane was still wearing only her bra and panties, and she might have looked a bit silly trying to protect April, except for the muscles that flexed in her arms. That only made it more touching, April thought; Jane was doing it even though it was hopeless.

And April noticed the attendant did not come any closer to Jane than the doorway. Clearly, she had learned not to. If April had looked down, she would have seen that Jane had placed her bare right foot behind a leg of one of the chairs.

"Give me all her clients," Jane was saying. She was pale and trembling slightly and looked as if she wanted to vomit.

"No - " April started.

"Quiet," Jane said to her, not harshly, but in a quiet, even tone of command. That word, of course, was a proven way to make April erupt, but right now it didn't bother her at all.

To the attendant, Jane said, "I can take it. You know she can't. I'm - I've already been - " Jane faltered. She took a deep breath and said, "There's no need to hurt anyone else." Her voice was rising. With a visible effort she stopped talking.

The attendant smiled. "We will keep your offer in mind, Commander. However, there is no need to fear. We have taken a poll of our clients. Rather than send you to your booths, the majority of them voted to allow you to continue performing together."

"Wait. What?" April said. She felt as if her skin was trying to shrink. She hugged herself, though she was dressed, and darted a look of betrayal at Jane. "People were watching us?"

"No," the attendant said, "not yet."

"No!" April said. "That's - I won't - "

"April," Jane said. She turned her back on the attendant and faced April.

April tried to push Jane away, but Jane caught her wrists and held them. "April," she said.

"Let go of me!"

"April, please!" Jane's voice was almost a cry of pain. That got April to stop struggling for a moment. Jane spoke quickly, her voice low. "April, I'm sorry, but we have to."

April shook her head violently. "How can you even ask me to do this? I'm not a whore!" April had never used that word in her life. Her voice was high and thin. Tears brimmed in her wide dark eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Jane said. "If I could fight all of them right now I would, don't you see that? I'd do anything to keep them from - "

"Then fight," April said, her voice barely a whisper, not wanting the attendant to overhear them. Even as she said it, she knew Jane was right.

"Angel - "

"Don't call me that."

"I would if I could," Jane said. "Please believe me, April." Her voice was shaky.

Slowly, April's fists unclenched. Her shoulders slumped a little and she leaned forward to rest her head against Jane's. She closed her eyes.

"We'll be together." Jane squeezed April's wrists hard. "It will be hard. But we'll be all right."

April took a long, shaking breath. At last, almost imperceptibly, she nodded.

Jane put her arms around April and held her tight for a long moment. Then, not letting go, she straightened and looked at the attendant. "All right," she said, her voice tired.

The attendant said, "Very well. Please come with me, Commander, Miss O'Neil. It is time for your breakfast."

"Wait," Jane said. "If we're going to keep doing this, let us have a nicer room, with real furniture. And let April have better food. And let her sleep in a spare VIP room." She had obviously decided to press her luck.

The attendant looked at her with disfavor. "You do not give orders here, Jane."

Jane flushed at the use of her first name instead of "Commander", but she just said, "Please."

"We will consider it." The attendant gestured with her head for them to follow, then walked out of the room.

*

April had eaten a large breakfast - of real food, not the usual mush - and was now taking a nap in the exam room, which was free for the moment. The padded exam table - which featured a frightening profusion of metal restraints - was not really meant for sleeping on, but April had crashed on it readily enough. Shepard and the attendant were alone in the corridor outside.

"I'm not going to thank you," Shepard said, "and I doubt you care, but I'm grateful." Her hands were restrained behind her back, which was the only way the attendant would allow her within arm's reach.

The attendant shrugged. "I made the suggestion, but the clients voted on it. You pleased them." A tiny smile appeared on her face. "A couple of them dissented violently, but they were forcibly ejected and advised not to return."

Shepard shuddered at the thought of April in the hands of the two thugs in question, whoever they were. She looked into the amber eyes of the attendant. She sighed. "I guess I will say it. Thank you. For that, and for not telling her about the audience. I think she believed you." The room Shepard and April had performed in was soundproofed as well, which kept April from hearing the raucous cheers of the tightly packed crowd watching from the next room.

The attendant smiled at Jane and tucked a lock of white hair behind her ear. "You're very welcome, Jane."

"And for agreeing about the food. And the VIP room." Shepard said it to remind herself of what she was getting, or rather what April was getting. Very few women in the Arcade received such pampered treatment, even if they cooperated. Unless they obtained a coveted patronage from an exceptionally wealthy client.

Or a staff member.

The attendant said, "Our clients pay the bills, so of course we try to make them happy. But those of us on the staff have some discretion as well." The attendant had used those exact words before, but now she spoke them almost in a singsong. "Am I to take it that you have reconsidered my offer?"

Shepard's mouth thinned with anger, at the attendant, at herself, but she nodded. Enduring months of nightmarish abuse while chained in her booth had not broken her, but for April...she would bend herself. Shepard could help April, could keep her safe. That was who Shepard was. She could be that woman again, even in this hell.

Her burden would be many-sided, she knew. She would have to keep the clients enthralled by her performances with April. She would have to keep the attendant from getting bored with her. She could not let herself resent April for what the attendant would undoubtedly demand of her. And all the while she had to keep looking for a way to escape, for both herself and April now.

The attendant could have simply put on a strap on and raped Shepard in her booth, of course, but that wasn't what she wanted. "Tell me," she said.

Shepard's hands closed into fists behind her back, but she spoke the hated words in as normal a voice as she could manage. "I want to be your pet. I'm sorry I said no the first time you offered." And the second and third times. She looked at her feet as she asked a genuine question. "Could you...not tell her? I don't want her to feel...." Responsible, Shepard didn't say. Both of them knew who Shepard meant.

"Say 'please'," the attendant said. "I like the way you say it."

"Please," Shepard said, from the heart, thinking only of her final request.

"Once more."

"Please?"

"Good girl." The attendant's voice was a rough whisper now. She slipped a hand into Shepard's hair - Shepard managed not to flinch at the touch - and gently bent Shepard's face to hers for a kiss. The attendant moaned and put her other hand firmly on the back of Shepard's neck. She had been waiting for this for a long time. As Shepard accepted the warm wet tongue into her mouth, she closed her eyes and thought about April, only a few feet away, asleep and safe. That made it easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to write a "good" and "bad" ending, but they worked better as a single ending.


End file.
